Heavy pants filled their dimly lit room, a faint scent of musk and sweat wafting in the air as Jeongguk tried to regain his breath, fingers still clenched around the soft bedsheets. He closed his eyes for a moment, heart hammering inside his chest as he nestled his head into the pillow. Jeongguk laid flat on his stomach, naked.

Soft footsteps approaching towards him were the only other thing Jeongguk could hear; he screwed his eyes shut tighter with a slight groan, brown tufts spilling onto the white sheets. Jeongguk was about to heave himself up if not for the warm hand arriving at his back.

"Hey, take it easy," Taehyung's gentle yet gravitating voice interrupted, gently taking the lead and turning Jeongguk around on the bed for him before laying next to him as he began to wipe at his tear-stained cheeks: the usual aftermath. "I didn't hurt you or anything, right?" Taehyung murmured, worry slightly pinching his tone. Jeongguk's lips broadened into a tired smile, shaking his head.

"No, of course not, Taehyungie. I'm not that fragile, y'know." He pouted his pink bitten lips, that matching the blush on his puffy cheeks. Taehyung chuckled and kissed his pout away as he always did, running a hand through Jeongguk's ruffled locks after.

"I know, but I'm just scared of hurting you. You know, like that one time I left those really dark bruises on your hips." Taehyung breathed out, eyes landing on Jeongguk's hips and sighing out in relief when there seemed to be no bruises.

"Taehyung, that was like- four years ago. You don't have to be guilty about that anymore. I already forgave you." Jeongguk mumbled, throwing his arm over Taehyung's chest. "You were going through a lot back then."

It had been about four years since the couple had gotten back together, two years since they had graduated college and moved into an apartment together. That was more so Jeongguk's idea.

At around their fourth year of college, the couple were still together so Jeongguk brought up the idea of moving in together with Taehyung after graduating to which the boy gleefully agreed. They started planning right away after that, browsing through apartment options which they thought would suit their tastes, finally getting an apartment with lots of space and a decent rent.

Well, that was how they moved in together.

Sure, as any other couple, they argued, not too much but not too little for their own good. Though they always made up after one of them swallowed their pride and apologised, pressing their lips together in a warm kiss. They couldn't stand to be apart for too long despite being together for years, it was just- impossible. Their love was too strong.

"I just don't want you getting hurt because of me or anything for that matter." Taehyung sighed, wrapping one arm around Jeongguk. "You remember the safe word, right?"

Jeongguk rolled his eyes but nodded. "Yes, Taehyung. I do but we don't even do anything that kinky enough to have one! You're afraid of spanking me for fuck's sake-"

"What's the safe word?"

Letting out a soft sigh, Jeongguk gave up his reasoning and answered. "Macbeth."

Taehyung chuckled at that, that was his idea to add a safe word for from the fear of ever hurting Jeongguk during sex despite the boy's reassurance that he would never. He and Jeongguk both decided on the word 'Macbeth' for that, the very same word which got them locked in the theatre hall together all those years ago.

"But Taehyung, how many times have I ever had to use the safe word?" Jeongguk asked with a smirk and Taehyung was the one to let out a sigh, he shook his head.

"Never." He replied.

Jeongguk kissed Taehyung's cheek, his arms now wrapped around the boy's neck. "Exactly, never but you're right. It's best we have one in case you ever feel uncomfortable too, Taehyungie. It's not always about me." He mumbled, wiping the sweat off Taehyung's forehead.

"Yeah, I know, baby." Taehyung let out, hands running along Jeongguk's smooth back, caressing the skin softly. "That was a good stress reliever though." He winked, Jeongguk scoffed and lightly hit his chest in a playful manner before his features softened.

"You still nervous about the musical?" Jeongguk asked, looking up at Taehyung with his doe eyes. "You seemed a bit stressed before because it's the opening night today."

After graduating with a degree in musical theatre, Taehyung auditioned for some roles in any upcoming musicals, a lot. Whenever he was rejected, Taehyung always got down about it, his hope diminishing with each rejection but Jeongguk was always there to comfort him, ensuring him that he would soon be accepted for one with a smile.

And well, he was right.

Not long after, Taehyung managed to get a role for one of the musicals he auditioned for. He nearly screamed from the pure joy he felt, running up to Jeongguk who was in their bedroom to engulf him into a huge hug, smiling really widely as the boy congratulated him with an equally as wide grin before bringing their lips into a kiss.

Acting was tough, as expected, and it took a lot of Taehyung's energy since there were heaps of choreography he had to learn, lines, and other stage directions which fried Taehyung's brain at times. It was exhausting, to say the least.

Luckily for him, Jeongguk was there to relieve any of his stress. Whether that would be cooking him a nice meal or riding him like a fucking rollercoaster in bed. Jeongguk always knew what to do, he just knew Taehyung too well.

"Mm. Sorta." Taehyung mumbled, shrugging his shoulders. "It'll be fine though, how's it going with you? Songwriting is pretty hard too, isn't it?"

As for Jeongguk? A bit after the musical back in college, he soon realised he wanted to do something in the field of music as a career and so he studied hard and managed to get a job in the same theatre as Taehyung, being the songwriter for the musical he was rehearsing so hard on.

Like acting, songwriting was tough, Jeongguk really had to pay attention to the scene and what emotion each of them conveyed to write a bunch of lyrics about it. Scrunched up balls of paper littered his desk from how frustrating it was to come up with lyrics, ripping out more paper out of his notebook if there was one thing the boy didn't like.

Jeongguk had to pour his all into the lyrics he wrote and feel the characters for his job, groaning in frustration whenever his brain wouldn't cooperate. However, Taehyung was always there to remind him to take breaks, give him kisses here and there and bring him snacks which boosted his brain. It was perfect like that.

"Eh, it is but at least my hard work is gonna pay off at the opening night, right?" Jeongguk giggled, and Taehyung smiled, nodding.

"It will don't worry." He reassured, ruffling Jeongguk's already messy locks. In short, neither could live their life without the other, or even imagine it. They had been through so much together yet their love managed to make it through and they would be the embodiment of a circus to give it up so easily.

They were just so meant to be.

A bit of silence. "I adore you," Taehyung whispered suddenly which took Jeongguk aback for a bit before his lips curved into a smile.

Jeongguk pressed their lips together, smiling into the kiss as one hand reached to cup Taehyung's jaw. Taehyung hummed into the kiss, turning him and the boy over so he was on top again, caging Jeongguk between his legs and holding his waist as their lips moved smoothly against one another's.

Even after all those years, neither could get enough of kissing the other. The touch of Taehyung's lips was like a drug to Jeongguk, a drug that he was so hooked on and vice versa, it was something they could never get tired of.

"Hey-" Jeongguk gasped out as he pulled away, looking at the lopsided grin on Taehyung's face. "Don't be getting too carried away."

Taehyung rolled his eyes at that and felt Jeongguk ruffle his smooth locks, a doleful sigh leaving his lips at that. Taehyung raised his brow at that. "What're you sighing for?"

Jeongguk shook his head, sitting up when Taehyung got off of him. "I miss your perm." He mumbled, twirling Taehyung's hair around his fingers. "That was the main reason I fell in love with you."

Taehyung scoffed, picking Jeongguk up and throwing him over his shoulder which earned him a startled gasp as he carried him into their bathroom. "Not for my personality or anything? Just my hair?"

Jeongguk shook his head, giggling as he hooked his legs around Taehyung's waist securely. "Maybe for your dick too." He murmured, Taehyung setting him down on the floor to turn on the water to the shower. "That was more of a bonus though."

Taehyung laughed and stepped into the shower, helping Jeongguk get in too where they got soaked under the water, Jeongguk letting out a content sigh at the warmth. "Thanks, Jeon." He joked, earning him a light shove from Jeongguk.

Both had already showered the day before so they only cleaned themselves up from their session. After that, the couple returned to their bedroom in towels to get dressed as they planned to head out to eat with their friends later. Jimin and Hoseok.

Despite how long ago it was, the couple kept in touch with them after college. Sure, they didn't hang out as often because of jobs, responsibilities and whatnot but they still found the time to hang out like old times. Like how they were supposed to be meeting them at the K-BBQ place they always went to for dinner before Taehyung had to go to the theatre for the opening night.

Jeongguk decided to don a collared oversized shirt and some jeans while Taehyung was dressed in a denim jacket with some loose beige trousers. They wanted to be comfortable. After getting dressed, Taehyung wasted no time to open the blinds and then change the sheets, pulling them off the mattress and running back to the bathroom to throw it in the laundry basket while Jeongguk stood by their bedside table, a small smile on his face.

He giggled when he picked up the stuffed bunny from the nightstand that Taehyung won for him on their first date. Jeongguk frowned when he saw a loose piece of string sticking out but chose to ignore it, placing it back beside the tiger plush. Taehyung saw the boy giggling and rose a brow.

"What's that laugh for, Jeon." He chuckled as he tucked in the corners of the new bed sheet, still continuing the joke from before which Jeongguk scoffed at.

"That's gonna be 'Kim' to you in a few months," Jeongguk muttered, picking up his engagement ring from the nightstand and slipping it onto his ring finger. A bright smile was etched on his face as he watched the gold band shine in the sunlight.

Since the pair had been together for so long with their love still going on strong, it would make sense for Taehyung to propose so he did just that. It was only a month ago when he popped the question, proposing to the boy in the theatre they worked at with the help of the other actors, decorating the stage with flowers for the proposal.

Cheesy, but it worked.

Taehyung could never forget the look on Jeongguk's face when he asked the question, down on one knee. His pretty lips were parted in shock, tears rushing down his rosy cheeks with his starry eyes reflecting a whole future in them. He was absolutely speechless, not even being able to see the gold plated ring in the box Taehyung held through the tears.

That silence scared Taehyung at first but that was quickly cut short when the boy jumped on top of him to pull him into a kiss, sobbing into the crook of his neck after pulling away and crying out a 'yes' through all his tears. As always, Taehyung was there to wipe off Jeongguk's tears with his gentle hands, getting up to slide the ring onto the boy's finger after as he blinked back his own tears. He couldn't believe it.

Well, that was how they got engaged.

Taehyung grinned and walked over to the boy, brushing his bangs to the side to press a kiss to his forehead. "You've been looking at your ring nonstop ever since I proposed, baby."

Jeongguk's giggles grew as he stared at the diamond in the centre of the ring, hiding his face into Taehyung's neck with his hands pressed to his chest. "I can't help it, Taehyungie." He whispered, feeling Taehyung's arms wrap around him warmly. "I'm just so happy."

Taehyung kissed Jeongguk's ear, gazing down at the ring on his dainty finger as he broke out into his own smile. "Me too, baby." He chuckled, a hand caressing Jeongguk's petite waist. "Me too."

They stayed like that for a few minutes, standing in that warm embrace with the pair exchanging goofy smiles whenever they made eye contact, both staring at Jeongguk's ring. Suddenly, a loud ringtone snapped them out of it, Jeongguk recognised it to be from Taehyung's phone so he pulled away to grab it from the nightstand, checking the caller ID.

"Why the fuck is my dad calling you?" Jeongguk grumbled, looking at Taehyung with an annoyed expression to which the boy rolled his eyes at. He grabbed his phone off of Jeongguk and answered the call, sitting on the bed.

"Hey, how are you?" Taehyung asked politely, and Jeongguk could hear his father respond from the other line with an enthusiastic tone. He scoffed to himself.

When the end of their second year neared for the pair back in college, Jeongguk decided it was time he would introduce Taehyung to his father so he decided to visit him for the holidays. Taehyung smiled and agreed, albeit a bit nervous.

At first, Jeongguk was shitting himself for their meeting. He was scared of what his father would think of Taehyung and whether or not he would meet his expectations. Knowing how cold his father could be, Jeongguk didn't know if he would even warm up to Taehyung whatsoever but to his pleasant surprise, he was completely wrong.

"Yeah, Jeongguk's fine. Don't worry." Taehyung smiled, quickly glancing over at Jeongguk. "Hey, how's it going with those tomatoes you were growing? You were talking to me about them the other day."

Jeongguk widened his eyes at that, brows furrowing. He huffed and lied down on the bed near where Taehyung was sitting. "How come he's never told me about that?" Jeongguk groaned, spreading his arms out on the bed.

Of course, their bond wasn't immediate. When Jeongguk introduced Taehyung to his father, he wasn't particularly the nicest despite Taehyung's attempts to be polite. He asked the boy a lot of question about his life like his major, plans after college, how he knew Jeongguk, everything.

After a long, long while filled with extensive questions from Jeongguk's father which Taehyung tried to answer as much as possible, he surprisingly got his approval. Jeongguk was more than surprised when he heard that, looking at his father with wide eyes but he was there to explain that as long as he made Jeongguk happy, that was all that mattered.

That made Jeongguk even more shocked when he heard that as his father was usually not the type to show much affection but he was wasn't complaining, bringing him into a hug which he didn't do often.

"Okay, I'll get Jeongguk to call you later. Alright, see you!" Taehyung said before he ended the call, throwing his phone on the bed. He looked behind him to see Jeongguk still lying down and chuckled, leaning over to press a kiss to his pouty lips.

"I swear that my dad probably likes you more than me," Jeongguk grumbled, brows still furrowed which Taehyung laughed at, pulling the boy to sit up. "He left me on seen the other day yet he goes to call you."

Taehyung reached to hold Jeongguk's hand, lacing their fingers together. "He loves you too, I promise." He reassured, brushing the pad of his thumb over Jeongguk's knuckles. "I'm happy he accepted me into your family."

Jeongguk's pout formed into a smile, he let out a sigh and nodded, leaning his head on Taehyung's shoulder. "Of course, he would. You don't have to associate yourself with your family anymore. I'm glad you cut them off back in college."

As for Taehyung's family, they hadn't changed one bit and that urged Taehyung to cut himself off from them completely. He couldn't stand to take their torment anymore. Taehyung's mother was still sliding in her derogatory remarks about her son's mental health with her husband not saying anything in protest. Jeongguk couldn't believe them, the amount of anger that coursed through his veins at their behaviour.

And so, Taehyung cut them off over the phone. He made it clear he wanted nothing to do with them anymore, severing his ties. Jeongguk was more than proud of the boy, comforting him when he began crying at his decision. He assured Taehyung that he did the right thing and that he had nothing to be upset about while the boy nodded, looking at Jeongguk with teary eyes.

It was one of the best decisions Taehyung had ever made.

He felt as though he could finally breathe properly, not having to think about his family anymore and just- moving on. The feeling was exhilarating.

"I- I'm glad too," Taehyung mumbled, tightening his grip on Jeongguk's hand. "Your family is amazing anyway." He grinned, Jeongguk returning the smile.

"They are, aren't they?" The boy giggled before reaching over to grab his phone from under the pillow, checking the time.

Now, Taehyung no longer needed medication to deal with his anxiety since it wasn't as severe as before. Thanks to Jeongguk and a lot of intensive therapy after he left college, Taehyung's anxiety had significantly decreased. Sure, there were times it got to him a lot, causing Taehyung to drift back to old habits like tugging on his hair and digging his nails into his palm but Jeongguk was always there to calm him down and ensure him that everything would be fine.

Jeongguk's eyes widened when he checked the time, mouth falling agape. "Fuck! It's already five, we're late, Taehyung! Jimin's probably waiting for us." He cried, pulling Taehyung to his feet before rushing to the front door to put on his shoes, wincing in pain from the first few steps.

Taehyung blinked for a few moments before he understood what was happening and followed suit, bolting out of their bedroom and to the front door where he hastily put his shoes on with Jeongguk.

"Hurry, Taehyungie!" Jeongguk complained to Taehyung after he had put his own shoes on to which Taehyung scoffed in response, adjusting his shoes around his heel.

"Ugh, we're gonna be so late."

"Yo. If you really think about it, the cereal industry is almost if not entirely dependant on the milk industry to do well in business-"

"Hoseok, please stop! Jimin begged, pressing his palms to his face in disbelief. Both Jeongguk and Taehyung laughed at that, Jeongguk falling onto Hoseok's shoulder from how hard he was laughing.

"That would mean that the nail industry is basically dependant on the hammer industry to do well too! God, a lot of these businesses are really dependant on each other-"

"Lord, give me strength," Jimin muttered to himself, clasping his hands in prayer for Hoseok to shut the fuck up. That got Jeongguk to laugh harder, slamming his fist onto the table repeatedly.

Luckily, he and Taehyung managed to make it on time, meeting up with the Hoseok and Jimin and picking the same four person table they always did. Jeongguk and Hoseok on one side with Jimin and Taehyung on the other. Just like old times.